Brother of Mine
by A Shinigami's Game
Summary: What is happiness without my brother?


_Hello lovely lemondrops! Thank you for looking at my story!_

_No, seriously, thank you. It actually means a lot._

_But anyways, this does contain SPOILERS. So, I just thought I'd warn you before you read further._

_Well, to recap the history, Edward Elric has sacrificed his life in Central and the world he knows to give Alphonse, his little brother, his body back. But Ed ends up on the other side of "The Gate" in London, where the world has no Alchemy, but instead advanced in technology._

_Once a year Al comes to visit Ed on the other side of The Gate. But after the second time coming, he starts to wonder if Ed is possibly happier in London than he was in Central._

_Is he?_

_Read on!_

_Please please please rate/review/whatever. I don't know, this is my first time posting on this site, I'm actually pretty new._

†

Chapter 1: London

"Wow!" breathed Al, taking in as much of the metallic London air into his lungs as possible. His soft brown eyes widened in childish amazement as he stared up at the enormous clock tower, Big Ben. Edward chuckled, his chest swelling with pride as he folded his arms behind his head.

"Impressive, isn't it?" he said. Al nodded enthusiastically, speechless.

"It's not anything like what we have in Central or Resembool!"

Ed laughed again until it eventually faded into a longing sigh. "Yeah, no kiddin'."

Al tore his eyes away from the grand tower illuminated in the setting sun to look at his brother, who had lowered his arms and shoved his hands deep in his pockets, his shoulders sagging slightly as he looked at the ground. Al's eyebrows knitted as he watched his brother sadly.

Suddenly Ed straightened, turning to Al with a bright smile that was just as artificial as his arm and leg were. "So, did ya bring what I asked for?" he said with as much pep as he could muster. Al was silent for awhile, searching his brother's face before answering.

"Yeah, I did."

"Great! Come on over to the house and we'll get started!" Ed grinned, more or less genuinely, Al couldn't really tell. Al once again scrutinized his brother's expression and posture to see if he could catch a glitch in his system, a hole in his illusion. Al knew it was fake, every smile, every laugh, it was all forced. He knew his brother was sad inside, almost completely broken, more homesick than Alphonse could possibly fathom. He also knew why.

Again, Ed had given up everything, made the ultimate sacrifice, for Al. Seemingly; it all hadn't been enough for them to stay together. Ed had been hoping he would, worst case scenario die or be lost in the vastness of the Gate, and not have to cause Al any more pain. But since he had come through the Gate to The Other Side, both himself and Al were constantly sad inside. They had to be together, never in their lives had they been apart for lengthy periods of time. Always they were thinking of each other, missing each other's company.

When Al was gone back through the Gate, Ed turned sour and on-edge. No one could ever have guessed who he used to be but his father, who he was rarely around. And when Al returned from his trips through the Gate to visit Ed once a year, he often came back sullen or melancholy. When he was alone he would stare into space and remember, reminisce in the memories. When people spoke to him he spoke in short, thoughtful sentences in a soft tone, with the exception of Winry, who he told everything.

Both boys were very different when they were separated, but of course never showed it on their visits with each other.

Al nodded his hesitant approval of Ed's plan as Ed unchained his bike from a rack. Ed laughed as he hopped on, scooting as far to the front of the modified seat as possible and looked expectantly back at Al, who still stood at the foot of Big Ben.

"Ya comin'?" he called to his brother, who was snapped out of his momentary trance. Al's head snapped up and he shot his brother a look of confusion.

"It depends on what that is," he said, taking a cautious step forwards. Ed patted the back of the bicycle seat and proceeded to explain its purpose and mechanics to Al as he slid on behind him.

"Wow, this works on manpower?" he asked in a mildly surprised tone. Ed nodded, feeling the excitement building in his chest.

"Sure does. It feels great to be able to do something on my own without the assistance of machinery," Ed declared, pushing off down the street and started to pedal furiously as they gained speed down the hill.

Al's squeals could be heard from miles around, which turned to giggles as he saw that Ed knew what he was doing, which wasn't too clear at first. He'd never experienced anything like the wind singing in his ears as they bounced happily down the street, and the wind whipping his bangs around his forehead.

Ed was glad he was able to give his brother a new and exciting experience on his visit. He was already formulating plans in his head for next visit, a large grin plastered across his face.

Al gathered the courage to look behind him at last, and was very pleased he did. His eyes widened again as his smile spread. They were leaving behind a city bathed in a blanket of golden sunlight, the roofs of the dark stone buildings bright and shiny. But the most brilliant sight of all was Big Ben, the clock's face reflecting the setting sun as a giant blimp passed over head, the hum of its gears only adding to the magic as its surface glistened.

Ed turned slightly to glance at Al upon hearing his quiet gasp of amazement, glimpsing the extraordinary sight they were leaving behind as he peddled.

"Well, isn't that interesting?" he murmured to himself, too low for Al to hear. He glanced at Al's awe-stricken expression and smiled softly, turning back around to face the road ahead.

_I don't know what could have been more perfect… This, or the surprise I have waiting for him at home. _

Al finally turned away from the sight as they rounded a corner.

_So that's London. That's what Ed gets to see every day… _Sadness tugged at the corner of his heart as his smile faded. _I wonder… If he's happier here than he would be back home…_

†

_I hope you liked :)_

_If you did, please stay tuned for another Fullmetal story coming soon! It's already been finished, I just have to type it up!_

_Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll stick around for the second chapter!_


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